A trainer scopes a horse after a below par performance. The vet announces that the horse suffered from a 'flipped palate' during the race, which of course is the reason given to the owner for a poor performance.
Is this just one of the many excuses trainers give to owners to appease them, you know the ones that are written in some Trainer's Excuse Book, which I can never seem to find laying around, or is this a valid reason for poor performance?
Can anyone describe a 'flipped palate' and what exactly the vet must have seen through the scope to announce such a thing? If a horse gets scoped after cooling out after a race, say 30-45 minutes after a race, is the palate still going to be flipped? What can you do to flip it back?
Flipped Palate
Moderators: Roguelet, hpkingjr, WaveMaster
The palate switches places with the epiglottis and reduces the amount of air the horse gets while running. It usually happens when the horse reaches its peak speed. It can happen intermittently. The specific term is "dorsal displacement of the soft palate."
There are several operations that can be done to correct this problem. Laurierace had a couple of her horses operated on to correct this and both are doing well. Laurierace has a post on her message board that explained the procedure and is quite informative.
There are several operations that can be done to correct this problem. Laurierace had a couple of her horses operated on to correct this and both are doing well. Laurierace has a post on her message board that explained the procedure and is quite informative.
A horse gallops with his lungs
Perseveres with his heart
And wins with his character. --Tesio
Perseveres with his heart
And wins with his character. --Tesio
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FancyHorse
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Flipped palates happen when a horse reaches a high speed during exercise.
There is a condition called epiglottic entrapment that is not common but is found in Standardbreds and Thoroughbreds. This condition is when the folds that are around the epiglottis become enlarged thus narrowing the air passage and causing difficulty in breathing.
There is a condition called epiglottic entrapment that is not common but is found in Standardbreds and Thoroughbreds. This condition is when the folds that are around the epiglottis become enlarged thus narrowing the air passage and causing difficulty in breathing.
A horse gallops with his lungs
Perseveres with his heart
And wins with his character. --Tesio
Perseveres with his heart
And wins with his character. --Tesio
Flipped palates
We had a horse that had issues with racing in hot, humid weather because her epiglottis was somewhat irregularly shaped, and tended to "freeze" up (blocking her breathing a bit) when she reached peak speed. She won going from 5F up to a mile and 16th, though, and was our best racemare.
We have another that flipped her palate during a race recently, but flipped it back afterward! She was checked repeatedly during the race and had a horse run right into her during it, so we think it was just a stress reaction, not a systemic problem.
It's reassuring to see a huge airway when you scope horses. At least that's one condition you can eliminate from the excuse list!
We have another that flipped her palate during a race recently, but flipped it back afterward! She was checked repeatedly during the race and had a horse run right into her during it, so we think it was just a stress reaction, not a systemic problem.
It's reassuring to see a huge airway when you scope horses. At least that's one condition you can eliminate from the excuse list!
paralyzed throat
How does this compare with the condition sometimes called a "paralyzed throat"? Is it the same thing?
